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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23200627">Little Lord</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unicoranglais/pseuds/Unicoranglais'>Unicoranglais</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Hands, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 07:27:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,090</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23200627</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unicoranglais/pseuds/Unicoranglais</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“I like this future, Kokurano. I’ll see to it that it comes about… but I don’t think even you could predict how great it’ll be. How much better it’ll be.” </p><p>Kaiba receives an auspicious accidental prediction from Lord Kokurano himself. (Kaiba x Yugi, fic trade.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Little Lord</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuugiMuffin/gifts">YuugiMuffin</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Lord Kokurano has received your written question, and will attend to it shortly.”</p><p>The girl – yet another servant of Lord Kokurano, clad in cardboard tiara and tablecloth cape – appeared from behind a curtain, or at least a reddish canvas of questionable origin. Possibly a gym mat this lord had strung up. It didn’t <em>look</em> very lordly, really. A flashlight flickered behind the red, a poor candle imitation.</p><p>“Please persist and continue with your noble silence, so he can concentrate on his–” here, the servant checked the back of her hand – “scared dusties. Thank you. I will now play his Holiness Lordiness’s invocating music of deep inspiration. It’s for his otherworldly energies.”</p><p>Apparently, Lord Kokurano could not work without his ‘scared’ CD player. The girl seemed to have some trouble with the track selection – several grunge rock numbers were played before eventually a more mystical number was settled upon. Really, what <em>was</em> it with unpaid servants not doing a very good job at anything? This was beyond even firing territory. Lord Kokurano had to be incredibly patient to put up with such behaviour.</p><p>Nonetheless, as the Gregorian chanting picked up, Seto Kaiba held his breath.</p><p>He’d come this far, past the hordes queuing for this guy, who had decided to offer his services from a ‘mystical’ janitor’s closet. He’d bribed and bullied his way to the front, and now, here he stood before an apparent lord. Someone who could tell the future – and whose predictions had come true, week after week. </p><p>Kaiba would be sneering, but he was desperate. And while he didn’t exactly care for <em>otherworldly energies</em>, Kokurano’s predictions had been coming about. Educated guesses, most likely, but Kaiba could respect those – that was what Duel Monsters came down to, after all.</p><p>“Your question… your question… Let me see, let me <em>see.</em> Into the future. Ooooo… give me your hand?”</p><p>A small hand with very pudgy fingers appeared from under the curtain/canvas/gym mat, right at floor level. Kaiba stared down at it. It wiggled little unlordly digits at him. “Hurry up! The future isn’t standing still, you know! If you don’t do it now, I might lose, ah, focus on my epic prediction!”</p><p>Again, he wouldn’t normally <em>touch </em>anyone. In any other circumstance… but he was desperate. If Kokurano held all the answers, then a few cooties were worth it. Still, as the seer stroked at his hand, exploring every nook and cranny, Kaiba found himself wishing he’d not left that bottle of hand sanitiser in his locker.</p><p>“Hmm… very soft… quite feminine… mmmm… yes… yes! The answer is yes! Yes, yes, yes, you’ll find love! The love of your life! A handsome, handsome man. Incredibly hot. The spirits tell me he’s shorter than you, but that just makes him sexier and even better in bed. You’ll propose to him and be together with him forever! Oooooh… I see it… I predict it will happen… tomorrow! You’re already obsessed with him, actually, he’s all you think about. And he loves you so much, though you don’t realize it! But! But you’ll propose tomorrow! And on that day you’ll realize how much he loves you.”</p><p>Well, that just about confirmed everything Kaiba needed to know. Also, Kokurano had decided to start grabbing Kaiba’s hand with <em>both </em>his own. And graduate from stroking to outright fondling, which was the most bizarre thing this side of Duel Monsters. A hasty exit was in order. “I like this future, Kokurano. I’ll see to it that it comes about… but I don’t think even you could predict how great it’ll be. How much better it’ll be.”</p><p>“Don’t talk in front of Lord Kokurano!” the girl scolded. Predictable. “You’ll disrupt his heavenly spheres!”</p><p>Both hands immediately retreated, which was good. Kaiba was starting to wonder how he was going to get them off without dismemberment. “H–hold on one minute! You’re… th–that voice is definitely a…”</p><p>But Kaiba was already gone, tracing a lonely path through empty halls. The janitor closet was no place for someone of his standing, after all. </p>
<hr/><p>Maths class was of course for those who couldn’t do mathematics, which did not include Kaiba.  Kaiba, therefore, did not include himself in the class.  He preferred long walks alone on the school oval, especially when he had something to think about and did not feel like enduring Jounouchi and Honda’s efforts at ‘panty tanking’ whichever girl had sat next to Kaiba.</p><p>Today, he had a great deal to think about. Kokurano was just like him, it seemed – or at least, he hadn’t minced his words. His predictions had been crystal clear.</p><p>
  <em>You’re already obsessed with him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He’s shorter than you. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He loves you, but you don’t realize it. </em>
</p><p>All true, all very true. Obvious, even. Yugi was indeed shorter than him, and as far as Kaiba knew he’d shown no signs of love. And of course, there was the obsession. The rivalry, the thirst to beat him – but protect him from anyone else even considering such a thing.</p><p>Was that love? The fierce protection? The possessiveness? Well, no. At least, not unless gay bondage novels counted as love, and Kaiba had certainly never read any such thing. Love had to be <em>give </em>as well as <em>have. </em></p><p>
  <em>But you’ll propose tomorrow!</em>
</p><p>Ah, a proposal–! The ultimate in <em>give</em>. Whether or not Lord Kokurano’s predictions were really accurate were anyone’s guess, what with that fast–changing future and all, but he’d put forwards a decent solution here. With a proposal, Kaiba would have <em>give </em>and he would have, well, <em>have. </em></p><p>
  <em>Yes, yes, yes, you’ll find love. </em>
</p><p>Kaiba paused under the shadow of a tree to swipe through his phone, looking at custom rings before deciding none was unique enough. No, this had to be special – the only one in the whole world. A proposal fit for the CEO of KaibaCorp. His company would make the ring, then.</p><p>What more should he give Yugi? There were the standard things, of course, but Kaiba was not in the mood for <em>standard. </em>He never was, really. Why settle for <em>average </em>on this? Yugi deserved far better than that.</p><p>He certainly deserved a lot better than, say, his last time in Kaiba’s theme park– and just like that, a plan formed. He already <em>had </em>all the things needed for an incredible proposal tomorrow, didn’t he? Besides perhaps the ring. And something else he’d have to get forged.</p><p>He made the call to Roland in full view of Yugi’s classroom. Something to laugh about later.</p>
<hr/><p>It seemed an eternity for the lunch bell to go, but eventually, most of the class filed out. Yugi stayed behind, as he always did; puzzles were always a cut above ridiculous ball games. Nearby, his two idiot friends, Honda and Jounouchi, seemed to be trying to assemble some sort of… wooden model? A mess of wood and glue? Panty tank MK II? A disaster, really.</p><p>Anzu was nowhere to be seen – perhaps too smart for mathematics as well? It didn’t matter all that much, so long as she didn’t walk in on what was about to occur. Kaiba straightened his jacket, then flipped out his collar, and checked his pockets twice at the door. Yes, he still had the present. Good.</p><p>What he <em>didn’t </em>have was something to say, so he placed his first gift on Yugi’s desk and waited. It didn’t take the guy long to look up, if only because Kaiba was a good six feet tall and looming over his place.</p><p>“Oh! Did you drop this?”</p><p>Kaiba frowned, his foot tapping a little. Impatience, not nerves. Annoyance, not anxiety. “No. It’s for you. In fact, I demand you attend.”</p><p>“Ah… huh. A free ticket to Kaibaland?” Yugi looked uncertain, as expected. Honestly, kidnapping him would have been a lot faster, but that didn’t seem very romantic and would probably spoil the whole proposal thing.</p><p>“Yes, Yugi. You can read.” He sighed. “It’s for you. We are testing out our new night show tomorrow, and I want my greatest rival to see its even greater greatness unrestricted. Just you, I, and the press.” He’d practiced the excuse, but it still sounded fake and forced.</p><p>Yugi smiled. Was that fake, too? “Gee. That’s great, Kaiba. Do you mind if I bring Jo–”</p><p>“No!”</p><p>His possible date jerked back from him, eyes widening. He didn’t say anything, but the silence was certainly not a good thing, so Kaiba coughed a few times to make it less silent. “Listen. This is a KaibaCorp event. Just you and I… and of course, hundred of spectators of the greatest and biggest media around. There will even be <em>Youtubers!</em> As such, er, you do have to look <em>somewhat </em>professional. I will have a suit delivered to your game shop… but even with a suit, your mutt of a friend has zero hope of looking professional.”</p><p>“I heard that!” Jounouchi shouted from across the classroom, because of course. Honda punched him from behind, also because of course, and some argument about whether red or blue paint was better started back up.</p><p>Kaiba realized he was looking at that, and not deeply into Yugi’s eyes. Was he meant to do that? He wasn’t so fond of those kinds of romance tropes, or really intimacy at all, though he supposed he’d have to try. Tomorrow night, at any rate.</p><p>He’d mastered the Ultimate Blue–Eyes White Dragon, how hard could it be?</p><p>“I mean… it’s nice of you to offer. I guess.” Yugi looked worried. “But with just you and I… well, isn’t that a little bit ga–”</p><p>“Hey!” Jounouchi came stomping over, putting himself between Yugi and Kaiba. He did this by getting up on Yugi’s desk, which brought him almost to Kaiba’s height. “This isn’t another Death–T, is it?!?”  </p><p>That hurt. And it was quite surprising how <em>much </em>that hurt. Kaiba flinched in the wake of it; he’d expected something along those lines, but he hadn’t really thought about a response. “No, it’s not. I just don’t think Yugi understands yet how great I am. Tomorrow night, he will.” He sneered. “Of course, <em>you’ve </em>already learned. Or do you want me to beat you senseless yet again? I doubt I’d even need a Blue–Eyes <em>Baby </em>Dragon to do it.”</p><p>Okay, so threatening his crush’s friends and putting down his crush’s ego was definitely something that sounded more romantic in his head. Going off Yugi’s embarrassed look far to the left and well away from him, he thought it was similar levels of cringe. “Kaiba, you know I respect you, right? I was just thinking, you doing this is kind of, well, a lot ga–”</p><p>Gainly? Gallant? Galvanizing? Whatever that next word was, Yugi wasn’t going to wiggle out of this, not at all! Throwing back his shoulders, Kaiba drew himself as straight as he could. He’d been bending down to Yugi’s level without thinking about it, but with Jounouchi in the road he hardly had to now.</p><p>“You will be picked up at five p.m tomorrow from that shop. You will then meet me in front of Kaibaland. Be ready. Do not bring the mutt.”</p><p>And for the second time that day, Seto Kaiba walked out of a room without waiting for a response.</p>
<hr/><p>The next day was all nerv– <em>eager</em> waiting, and much wishing he’d just proposed right then and there, back in the classroom. It would have been easier – but ‘easier’ was not how Seto Kaiba did things.</p><p>Admittedly, ‘<em>apprehending a person smuggled into a limousine’ </em>was also not how he did things, or at least not what he’d expected to have to do. But Jounouchi had been caught, eventually, and booted off the site in fancy plastic Blue–Eyes White Light–Up Handcuffs (only $29.99, AA batteries not included). </p><p>“Have a nice time dying and stuff!” he’d wished Yugi. “Make sure he kills you like, extra–death and all! Try to go all night!” A bit odd, Kaiba felt, but Jounouchi was pretty dumb, so he let it go.</p><p>As for Yugi’s other pal, Honda seemed content to stand across the road from Kaibaland and stare, holding a rather bizarre sign which read ‘AT LEAST GET A ROOM IF UR GONNA KILL HIM’. His hair was about sharp enough to stare, too, which was mildly unsettling, but an annoyance at best in the grand scheme of things.</p><p>Especially since murder was <em>certainly</em> not in the cards today.</p><p>With this in mind, Kaiba resolved to make the most of things. Yugi was here, after all, in a stunning black and white suit (very classic, a good choice). They stood together outside the great gate to Kaibaland, the sun setting behind the glorious Blue–Eyes White Dragons that guarded it. Inside, Kaiba could already hear the murmur of journalists, presumably all singing his praises. This was beyond romantic, really.</p><p>Perhaps–</p><p>“Um.” Yugi fumbled with his tie, which had come off for the fifth time. Whatever he was doing with it, he wasn’t doing it right; a lesser quality tie would have likely crumpled by this point. Fortunately, Kaiba’s ties were as designer as the suits that accompanied them – he’d spared no expense on Yugi’s purple tie.  </p><p>Yugi very nearly dropped the very expensive designer tie, because that was Yugi for you. Fortunate that they were standing on a red carpet, and not, say, the grass the red carpet had been laid upon. Not so fortunately, the other guy was shaking, looking left and right as if he expected an assassination attempt at any minute. Because there were no such assassinations incoming, the end result was a poor act if ever there was one.</p><p>“H–hey, ah… h–h–h–hey…” Oh god, he was even doing an unrealistic number of stutters. “Um, uh, um, ah, <em>Kaiba… </em>I think I’d feel a lot safer if–”</p><p>“For the last time, I am <em>not</em> taking your useless friends inside! What do you think this is, a playdate?!?” Kaiba folded his arms, and his three sizeable security guards did the same. “Jounouchi will ruin things with the press, and I do not have any suits to spare. He’d look terrible in purple, anyway.”</p><p>(There were fourteen different half–sizes of suit in the trunk of the limousine, of course – three black suits, three white, with a generous selection of other colours and ties. But those were for Yugi, had Kaiba happened to educatedly–guess his size and/or colour preferences incorrectly. Not that Kaiba was ever wrong, of course.)</p><p>“Mkay.” At least with his request for Jounouchi denied, Yugi seemed to give up on all that weird stammering nonsense. “So, what about this?”</p><p>And, with a weak smile, the tie was offered in Kaiba’s general direction. “I mean, are you sure I should be wearing it? I haven’t worn one before.” Yugi swallowed. “See, I get you’re trying your best, but I was just thinking – all this formal stuff might not really be for me. Maybe we could get coffee or something, instead of… you know.”</p><p>Still worried about that whole Death–T thing, was that he? Well, that only made Kaiba all the more determined to prove him wrong. Kaiba waved one hand grandly at the gate. “This is not a death trap. Furthermore, not being able to tie a tie <em>is </em>a weak excuse.”</p><p>“Very comforting,” Yugi observed. “Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, be more comforting?”</p><p>Kaiba opted to ignore this, in favour of reaching for Yugi’s neck. In moments, he had long fingers around the tie, and secured it swiftly. Lingered, pretending to pull it tight. It was… still a little warm. Was that romantic? Probably not. Maybe, but only in those awful gay bondage novels he had most definitely never read or anything.</p><p>“…Is it <em>meant</em> to be this tight? You’re… are you trying to do something to me, Kaiba?”</p><p>Whoops, a bit too much pulling and not enough and not enough in the pretending department.  Kaiba never had been good at pretending. “No. Sorr– er, it’s not.” An apology, almost. But he had never been good at those, either.</p><p>As he loosened the tie, Kaiba looked from Yugi, to the tie, to Yugi again, and yes– it <em>did </em>match his eyes. A perfect match, though Kaiba would expect nothing less than perfect from his people. Unlike, say, Kokurano.</p><p>
  <em>But you’ll propose tomorrow! And on that day you’ll realize how much he loves you.</em>
</p><p>Kaiba was done with his adjustments of Yugi’s attire, and yet… not done. Or at least, he was still there, and so was Yugi. He waited for Yugi to step away, but he didn’t. And maybe Kaiba should have moved back, then, but Yugi… he hadn’t. Not that he was following Yugi, since neither of them were moving.</p><p>So, there they stood. It would have been chest to chest, but due to the height problem it was most Kaiba’s hands on Yugi’s chest, imagining a tiny flutter of a pulse through his fingers. It wasn’t hesitation – that would mean nerves – something else made him linger there.</p><p>Perhaps Yugi felt it, too. Or maybe he was waiting for something else.</p><p>“I. Was, erm, wondering if you might like–”</p><p>The silence was broken, and his voice sounded so weak in it, he could only stop. Yugi stepped back, and Kaiba’s heart felt all tangled up in his throat, his hand tracing down where Yugi’s body had once been. Was this supposed to be romance? It felt fucking <em>terrible. </em></p><p>“Nothing. To the park.”</p><p>Yugi let out a long groan. “But Kaiba, I’m <em>scared</em>. Seriously, do I have to spell it out?”</p><p>“This isn’t Death–T.” Kaiba didn’t dare look, just turned and got ready to walk away – as he’d done twice yesterday. But a small hand slipping into his own made him stop.</p><p>“No, no, don’t you get it? I’m scared and stuff, so I’m not going to let go until we’re safe. Well, that’s the excuse, anyway.” A smile pulled at the edge of Yugi’s lip. “You know, with all the trouble I’m getting into, that could be a long while. Isn’t this a great excuse, Kaiba? I just wish you’d picked up on it.”</p><p>Kaiba blinked. “I… you didn’t let me propose.”</p><p>“You could say I <em>beat</em> you to it? Don’t get angry, though.”</p><p>“I couldn’t.”</p><p>“Then let’s go in!” Yugi pulled him closer, and for the first time, Kaiba walked with someone else at his side.  </p><p>How much better this future he had made from Kokurano’s was, indeed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><em>So you've got the brain - but have you got the touch?</em> </p><p>Don't ever give me free reign in trades, man. I will have far too much fun with it. </p><p>Here is the excellent other side of the fic trade: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23202961</p></blockquote></div></div>
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